Looking for Langkasuka…and look what I found!

No…obviously I couldnt find even traces of that legendary and almost mythical ancient Malay Kindom of Langkasuka. Well…some scholars claimed that the kingdom was located on the east-coast of Southern Thailand (ie in the vicinity of Songkhla), while another group believe it was located on the west-coast (ie in Kedah, Malaysia).  Its like… well… looking for an ‘Eden in the East’…!

Captivating sunset viewed from Lanta beach

Hmmm…maybe they were ALL right? Being such a great & majestic kingdom of its time…maybe the kingdom was indeed located all the way from the most southern part of the Isthmus of Kra (that slim piece of land that separates South China Sea on the east from Andaman Sea on the west) stretching to the south right until Perlis, Kedah & Kelantan (the most northern states of Malaysia)? Hmmm…as always…me & my wild guesses:)

Anyway, on my ‘island-hopping-trip’ on the Andaman Sea, I came upon this beautiful place called…LANTA. So what if I didnt find a trace of Langkasuka?…at least I stumbled upon a lovely island which bears a name similar (well…only half of the name anyway) to that legendary kingdom. I was happy enough:)

The calm sea viewed from the traditional jetty of Lanta

My ‘island-happy-hopping’ trip began in Krabi. After 3 nights in Krabi, I hopped into a boat that took me to Phi-Phi. Another 2 nights in that ‘tsunami-surviving’ island and then again I found myself on another boat  that took me to Lanta. 3 nights in Lanta brought me to many beautiful, laidback, almost ‘tourist-free’ places on this lovely island.

A narrow lane in between wooden shops in Lanta Old Town

The old name for Lanta was ‘Pulau Satak’. And that is ‘Satak Island’ in Malay. Yes, Lanta’s population consist of about 80% Malays. Anyway, the old name was later changed to ‘Lantas’ and finally in 1917 it was renamed ‘Lanta’.

There are actually 2 main islands in Lanta: Lanta Noi & Lanta Yai. The one that I went to was Lanta Yai.

Just a word of advice: if you are planning to go there (Lanta Yai) by taking the land route, just be prepared to spend sometime to board… not 1… but 2 ferries! The 1st one is from the main land (at Baan Hua Hin) and the 2nd one is to cross the small channel from Lanta Noi to Lanta Yai. At least that how it was a year ago.

Hard working Malay women of Lanta

Lanta was first populated by Sea Gypsies or locally called ‘Chao Lay’. They were believed to be originated from Aceh, Indonesia. That was 500 years ago. Then about 200 years ago, the island saw the emerging of Muslim community who came from the south, ie Malaysia and Indonesia. And finally, the Chinese made their way to island about 100 years later.

Me infront of a small 'boutique cafe' in Lanta Old Town

The ‘Chao Lay’ or Sea Gypsies formally lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle. The whole of Andaman Sea was their ‘home’. One interesting aspect that I managed to observe about the ‘Chao Lay’ is their passion in entertainment: a popular folk-dance called ‘Ronggeng’. This is actually also (eventhough not popular now like how it was before) one of the traditional dance in Malaysia! Another fascinating factor that I observed was that the popular local dishes of the islanders are ‘Massaman Curry’ and ‘Chicken Biryani’! Yes indeed, I felt so at ‘home’ on this lovely, lovely island!

Nice way to relax after a full-day of exploring Lanta Island

Could they be the descendants of the legendary & almost mythical ancient Malay Kingdom of Langkasuka...?